Former 1997/98 Troop Leader Alvin Foong Ther Hoei participated in the recent round Penang island canoe expedition. He shares some of his experiences and pictures with us here.

It all started evening of 22 March 2007 at PKSA (Penang Water Sports Recreation Centre). We had our first briefing on the expedition by the Secretary of Penang Canoeing Association and even the President of PCA Mr Khoo himself.

We were expecting about 70++ people during the whole 3 days 2 nights expedition. These included personnel from the navy, marine police and PKSA staff. Ms. Girlie from PKSA announced that we had participants from all over Malaysia including 2 female participants from Singapore. They are to represent Singapore to create a new record of being the first Singaporean ladies to canoe round Penang island.

We set off around 0830hrs on 23 March 2007 with 33 double seater kayaks. Everyone were in high spirits and determination! We had our first stop over at Pantai Kerachut, a place which is no stranger to me since PFS days. Lunch was great and without much delay, we continued our journey to Biro Tata Negara, which served as our base for the first night.

We had our wakey-wakey at 0600hrs on 24 March 2007. Today will be the toughest day among the 3 days of the expedition. We were expected to complete at least 12 hours of non stop journey which covers about 30km from Biro Tata Negara to Pantai Jerejak. We reached Pantai Jerejak about 1730hrs. All the participants were exhausted and tired as well. We quickly set up our tents and some Penangites decided to go back home a night.

Wakey-wakey was at 0700hrs on the third and final day of the expedition. Everyone were tired but our spirit and determination were high. Everyone were looking forward to PKSA again because that is where lunch will be served.

The first kayak that reached PKSA was at about 1300hrs and the last in the group was 1400hrs. It was undoubtedly an unforgettable experience.